A conventional bow stabilizer's primary purpose is to minimize handle torque and vibration at release. Stabilization is particularly important to reduce the horizontal inaccuracy problems caused by an overdraw rest and shorter, light-weight arrows, where canting of even a few degrees has the tendency to move arrow impact away from the sight alignment. Vibration produced noise is another problem which can be reduced by bow stabilization.
Bow stabilizers reduce torque and vibration by placing counterweight to the torque away from the handle. Traditional bow stabilizers have been in use by archers and bowhunters for many years, and are primarily in the form of a weighted bob at the end of a rod. More recently, several multi-purpose stabilizers have been introduced, incorporating flashlight attachments, storage compartments, trailing lines, and other accessories.
The present invention is directed to a multi-purpose stabilizer in the form of a draw rod with a mechanical release. Draw rods are used in conjunction with a latching mechanism to lock the bow at a drawn position, forming a drawlock. However, a draw rod, used alone, is very effective in stabilizing a bow. The front-hand to back-hand bridge provided by the rod is maintained after string release, essentially eliminating handle torque and locking in the sight alignment until the arrow has passed contact with the rest. It is an object of the invention to utilize this stabilizing effect of the drawrod.
Drawlocks of various types have been used by archers and bowhunters for many years, including the locking mechanisms on centuries-old crossbows. For upright bows a drawlock has generally been either a fixed rod along which the bow string is drawn or a moveable rod drawn along with the bow string. Both types use some sort of latch mechanism to lock the string at full draw, and a release mechanism to release the string and propel the arrow. (The term "full-draw" is used herein to mean the aimed draw position for a bow properly matched to the archer, rather than an absolute maximum draw.) A representative example of the fixed rod type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,926,650; a representative example of the moveable rod type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,982,279.
The modern upright bow design has evolved from long bow through recurve and compound bows of numerous varieties, and the range and variety of arrow rests, bow sights, stabilizers, mechanical releases, and other accessories has likewise proliferated. While some earlier forms of drawlocks may be usable with modern bows and accessories, it is an objective of this invention to provide a combination stabilizer and drawlock kit (hereinafter "stabilizer/drawlock device") for the contemporary design of a compound bow, particularly a bow equipped with an overdraw arrow rest which permits the use of shorter, lighter arrows to increase velocity and flatten arrow trajectory. It is another objective of this invention to provide for an overdraw rest and shelf to be mounted on the stabilizer/drawlock device at a selectable overdraw distance.
The type of compound bow for which this draw rod stabilizer is designed has a handle portion with a sight window above the grip that is cut past the center of the handle to allow fletching clearance and allow sideways arrow rest adjustment. This sight window and the hand configuration of the grip make the bow either "right handed" or "left handed". It is an objective of this invention to make a universal draw rod stabilizer/drawlock which can be mounted on either a right or left handed compound bow.
Modern compound bows of this type usually have a threaded hole drilled and tapped through the handle directly above the grip to receive an arrow rest. The bow manufacturer usually locates the hole precisely at the "pivot-point" area of the handle, which moves less than any other part of the handle as the bow torques and vibrates during a shot. It is an objective of this invention to use this pre-drilled arrow rest hole to attach the stabilizer/drawlock device to the handle.
With the arrow rest hole used to support the stabilizer/drawlock device, the overdraw rest must be supported elsewhere. It is an objective of this invention to allow the mounting of an overdraw arrow rest and an overdraw shelf on the stabilizer/drawlock device at a selectable rearward position from approximately one to five inches behind the grip.
With the overdraw arrow rest located well behind the "pivot point", the negative effect on accuracy of minor release or tuning errors is increased. For this reason, most archers using an overdraw will find that they shoot better with a mechanical string release than with a finger release. For the same reason, in tuning the bow the nocking point on the string must be carefully adjusted to eliminate up-and-down wobble of the arrow in flight, and the arrow rest carefully adjusted horizontally to eliminate side-to-side wobble. It is an objective of this invention to provide a stabilizer/drawlock device in which the draw rod is alignable with the tuned locations of nock point and arrow rest.
It is a further objective of the invention to provide a bow stabilizer/drawlock kit which has two interchangeable plates on which the draw tube is attached. One plate contains a latching mechanism; the other plate is without any latching mechanism. The plates may be interchanged depending on whether the archer or bowhunter prefers or is required by hunting regulations to hold his draw manually or, alternatively, to use the plate containing the latching device to lock and hold the draw rod at a full draw position. These interchangeable stabilizer and drawlock plates may be sold separately as a conversion device or together with the other draw rod stabilizer as a kit.
It is another objective of the invention in its drawlock configuration to provide a superior and more positive latching of the drawlock rod at full draw.
Further advantages of the invention may be appreciated by reading the following descriptions.